Genesis 4

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. 'Was intimate with' renders the Hebrew idiom yada (יָדַע, 'knew'). The verb 'to know' is used throughout the Hebrew Bible as a euphemism for sexual intercourse (cf. Genesis 19:5; 24:16; Judges 11:39; 1 Samuel 1:19). The rendering follows the prompt's principle of making Hebrew idioms meaningful in English while documenting the original expression.
2. 'Cain' (Qayin, קַיִן) — Eve's explanation creates a wordplay: 'I have acquired/produced (qaniti, קָנִיתִי) a man.' The name Qayin sounds like the verb qanah (קָנָה, 'to acquire, to produce, to create'). The precise meaning of qanah here is debated — it can mean 'to acquire,' 'to produce,' 'to create,' or 'to buy.'
3. 'With the help of the LORD' translates et-YHWH (אֶת יְהוָה). The preposition et (אֶת) is ambiguous: (1) 'with the help of' (the LORD assisted); (2) 'with' (together with the LORD); (3) as the direct object marker — 'I have produced a man, namely the LORD' (a theologically startling reading that some ancient interpreters entertained). 'With the help of' is the most natural reading and is adopted here. The ambiguity is noted.
4. This is the first birth in the Bible. Eve's exclamation acknowledges the LORD's role in bringing forth new life — a striking affirmation given the recent expulsion from Eden.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. 'Abel' (Hevel, הֶבֶל) means 'breath,' 'vapor,' or 'futility.' It is the same word used throughout Ecclesiastes ('vanity of vanities,' havel havalim). The name foreshadows Abel's brief life — he will pass away like a breath. Unlike Cain's naming, no explanation for Abel's name is given, which may itself be significant.
2. 'Worker of the ground' (oved adamah, עֹבֵד אֲדָמָה) — Cain continues the vocation assigned to humanity: working the ground (cf. 2:5, 15; 3:23). The verb avad and the noun adamah connect Cain's occupation to the ongoing adam-adamah theme. Abel's occupation as a 'keeper of flocks' (ro'eh tson) introduces pastoralism alongside agriculture.
3. 'Keeper of flocks' — the word ro'eh (רֹעֶה, 'shepherd') will become one of the most significant metaphors in the Hebrew Bible, applied to kings, to God himself (Psalm 23), and to the expected Messiah (Ezekiel 34).

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. 'In the course of time' translates miqqets yamim (מִקֵּץ יָמִים), literally 'at the end of days.' This is a vague temporal marker — after an unspecified period.
2. 'Offering' translates minchah (מִנְחָה), which can mean 'gift,' 'tribute,' or 'offering.' In later Levitical legislation, minchah becomes a technical term for the grain offering specifically (Leviticus 2). Here it is used in its broader sense of a gift brought to God. The text does not prescribe or explain the practice of offering — it assumes it.
3. The text says Cain brought 'some of the fruit of the ground' without specifying quality or quantity. Compare Abel's offering in the next verse, which is described with more specificity.

Translator Notes

1. Abel's offering is described with notable specificity: 'from the firstborn' (mibbkhorot, מִבְּכֹרוֹת) and 'from their fat portions' (umechelvehem, וּמֵחֶלְבֵהֶן). The firstborn represents the best and first of the flock; the fat portions were considered the richest and most valuable part of the animal (and are later designated as belonging to God in Levitical law, Leviticus 3:16–17). The detail suggests Abel offered his best.
2. 'Looked with favor' translates vayyisha (וַיִּשַׁע), from sha'ah (שָׁעָה, 'to look at, to regard, to pay attention to'). The text does not explain how God's favor was communicated — whether through fire from heaven, visible response, or some other means. The focus is on the divine evaluation: God regarded Abel and his offering.
3. The text says God looked favorably on 'Abel and his offering' — the person before the offering. This has been widely noted: God's regard is first for the person, then for the gift.

Translator Notes

1. The text does not explain why God favored Abel's offering over Cain's. Proposed explanations include: (1) the quality of the offering — Abel brought his best (firstborn, fat portions) while Cain's offering is described without such qualifiers; (2) the attitude of the offerer — God regarded the person before the offering; (3) blood sacrifice vs. grain offering. The text is deliberately silent on the reason, and the rendering does not supply one.
2. 'His face fell' (vayyippelu panav, וַיִּפְּלוּ פָנָיו) — an idiom for dejection, resentment, or downcast expression. The Hebrew literally says 'his faces fell' (panim is plural). This contrasts with the 'lifting up' (se'et) mentioned in verse 7.

Translator Notes

1. God initiates dialogue with Cain, as he did with the man and woman after the fall (3:9, 11, 13). The questions are not requests for information but invitations to self-examination. God's speech continues into verse 7.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. This verse is notoriously difficult in Hebrew and has generated extensive discussion. The grammar is irregular and the imagery is compressed.
2. 'Acceptance' translates se'et (שְׂאֵת), literally 'a lifting up.' This could mean: (1) 'lifting up' of the face — restored dignity and acceptance; (2) 'lifting up' of the offering — acceptance of the gift; (3) forgiveness. The word provides a counterpoint to the 'fallen face' of verse 5 — if Cain does well, his face will be lifted.
3. 'Sin is crouching at the door' (lappetach chattat rovets, לַפֶּתַח חַטָּאת רֹבֵץ) — sin is personified as a predatory animal lying in wait at the entrance. The participle rovets ('crouching') depicts a beast poised to spring. This is the first use of the word chattat (חַטָּאת, 'sin') in the Bible.
4. 'Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it' (ve'eleikha teshuqato ve'attah timshol-bo) — this language precisely mirrors 3:16 ('your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you'). The same rare word teshuqah ('desire') and the same verb mashal ('to rule') appear in both verses. The parallel is deliberate: as the woman's desire and the man's rule create a tension in their relationship, so sin's desire for Cain creates a tension he must overcome. Unlike 3:16, where the ruling is stated as a consequence, here it is presented as a command — Cain is told he 'must rule over' sin.
5. The gender of the pronouns is irregular: chattat ('sin') is feminine, but the participle rovets ('crouching') and the pronoun suffixes are masculine. Some scholars explain this as treating sin like a masculine demon or predatory animal; others see it as simply irregular grammar. The rendering uses 'its' and 'it' to smooth the English.

Translator Notes

1. 'Cain spoke to his brother Abel' — the Hebrew says vayyomer Qayin el-Hevel achiv (וַיֹּאמֶר קַיִן אֶל הֶבֶל אָחִיו), literally 'Cain said to Abel his brother,' but does not include the content of what was said. The Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta, and Samaritan Pentateuch all supply the words 'Let us go out to the field.' The Masoretic Text leaves the speech blank. This may be an intentional omission — the words are swallowed up by the violence that follows — or it may reflect a textual gap. The rendering follows the MT as it stands.
2. The phrase 'his brother' (achiv, אָחִיו) appears twice in this single verse and seven times in this chapter (vv. 2, 8 [twice], 9 [twice], 10, 11). The repetition is relentless — Cain cannot escape the fact that his victim is his brother. The narrative insists on the relationship even as Cain destroys it.
3. 'Killed' translates vayyahargehu (וַיַּהַרְגֵהוּ), from harag (הָרַג, 'to kill, to slay'). This is the first human death in the Bible — and it is a murder. Like the act of eating in 3:6, the murder is narrated with stark brevity.

Translator Notes

1. God's question 'Where is your brother Abel?' echoes 'Where are you?' (3:9). In both cases God asks a question whose answer he already knows, inviting confession rather than seeking information.
2. 'Am I my brother's keeper?' (hashomer achi anokhi, הֲשֹׁמֵר אָחִי אָנֹכִי) — the word shomer ('keeper') is from shamar (שָׁמַר), the same verb used for the man's commission to 'keep/guard' the garden (2:15) and the cherubim's task of 'guarding' the way to the tree of life (3:24). Cain's deflection is thus deeply ironic: the entire vocation of humanity has been to shamar — to keep, guard, and protect. His rhetorical question implicitly rejects this calling.
3. Cain's response combines a lie ('I do not know') with a defiant question. Where the man in chapter 3 deflected blame, Cain denies knowledge and challenges God's right to hold him accountable.

Translator Notes

1. 'Blood' is plural in Hebrew — demei (דְּמֵי), literally 'bloods.' The rabbinic tradition interprets this plural as signifying not only Abel's blood but the blood of all his potential descendants — all the lives that would have come from him. The plural may also simply reflect the quantity of spilled blood.
2. 'Crying out' translates tso'aqim (צֹעֲקִים), from tsa'aq (צָעַק, 'to cry out, to shriek, to appeal for help'). This is the verb used for the desperate cry of the oppressed, slaves, and victims (cf. Exodus 2:23; 3:7, 9). The shed blood has a voice that appeals to God for justice. The ground (adamah) that received the blood becomes a witness.
3. God's speech continues through verse 12.

Translator Notes

1. 'You are cursed from the ground' — unlike the serpent who was 'cursed above all' animals (3:14), Cain is cursed 'from the ground' (min-ha'adamah). The preposition min can indicate source ('cursed by the ground') or separation ('cursed away from the ground'). Either way, the man's relationship with the adamah — his origin, his vocation, his sustenance — is now fundamentally broken. The ground that was cursed 'because of' Adam (3:17) now rejects Cain entirely.
2. The ground is personified — it 'opened its mouth' (patsah et-piha) to receive Abel's blood. The earth is not a passive surface but an active participant, absorbing the blood and testifying against the murderer. The personification connects the ground's 'voice' (v. 10) with its 'mouth' (v. 11).

Translator Notes

1. Cain's punishment intensifies the curse pronounced on Adam. For Adam, the ground would produce thorns and thistles but still yield food through hard labor (3:17–19). For Cain, the ground will withhold its strength entirely — his agricultural vocation is rendered futile. The worker of the ground (oved adamah, v. 2) is now rejected by the ground.
2. 'A fugitive and a wanderer' (na vanad, נָע וָנָד) — a paired expression using two words from the root n-w-' ('to wander, to move about') and n-w-d ('to wander, to flee'). The alliterative pair emphasizes restless, rootless existence. Cain, who worked the settled soil, is condemned to endless wandering.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Hebrew avoni (עֲוֺנִי) is deliberately ambiguous — it can mean 'my iniquity/guilt' or 'my punishment.' The statement could be read as: (1) 'My punishment is more than I can bear' — a complaint about the severity of the sentence; (2) 'My guilt is too great to be forgiven' — a confession of irredeemable sin. The KJV and most English translations follow the 'punishment' reading. The ambiguity between guilt and punishment is inherent to the Hebrew word avon (עָוֹן), which encompasses the sin, its guilt, and its consequences as a unified reality.
2. God's speech continues into verse 14.

Translator Notes

1. Cain identifies two dimensions of his punishment: (1) separation from the ground (me'al penei ha'adamah) — banishment from the soil that was his livelihood; (2) separation from God's presence (umippanekha essater) — hidden from God's face. Exile from the adamah and exile from God are presented as equally devastating.
2. 'From your face I will be hidden' — this echoes 3:8, where the man and woman 'hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God.' But while they hid voluntarily, Cain's hiddenness is imposed — a consequence of judgment rather than a choice of shame.
3. The verb garashta ('you have driven me out') is the same verb used for the expulsion from Eden (3:24, garash). Cain's banishment parallels and intensifies his parents' expulsion.

Translator Notes

1. 'Vengeance sevenfold' (shiv'atayim yuqqam, שִׁבְעָתַיִם יֻקָּם) — God protects the murderer from being murdered. Even Cain, cursed and exiled, remains under a measure of divine protection. Sevenfold vengeance is an extreme deterrent — disproportionate retribution against anyone who would take justice into their own hands.
2. 'A mark' (ot, אוֹת) — the nature of this mark is not specified. The word ot means 'sign,' 'mark,' or 'token' — the same word used for the 'signs' (otot) of the celestial bodies in 1:14. It is a visible indicator, but the text does not describe what it looked like. Proposals range from a physical mark to a protective sign or banner. The mark is protective, not punitive — it shields Cain from being killed.
3. God's response to Cain's fear reveals a complex divine stance: judgment without abandonment. Cain is cursed and exiled but not left unprotected. The God who judges also preserves.

Translator Notes

1. 'Went out from the presence of the LORD' (vayyetse milifnei YHWH) — this geographical departure signifies theological distance. Cain moves away from God's manifest presence, fulfilling his own lament in verse 14.
2. 'The land of Nod' (erets-Nod, אֶרֶץ נוֹד) — a wordplay on the root n-w-d ('to wander'). Nod means 'wandering.' Cain, condemned to be a 'wanderer' (nad), settles in the land of 'Wandering.' The irony is that the restless wanderer settles — and in the next verse, builds a city.
3. 'East of Eden' (qidmat-Eden) — the same directional language used in 2:8. Movement 'eastward' in Genesis consistently represents movement away from God's presence (cf. 11:2; 13:11).

Translator Notes

1. 'Enoch' (Chanokh, חֲנוֹךְ) means 'dedicated' or 'initiated,' from the root ch-n-kh ('to dedicate, to train, to initiate'). The same root gives us Hanukkah ('dedication').
2. The subject of 'was building a city' (vayehi boneh ir) is ambiguous — it could be Cain or Enoch. The rendering follows the traditional reading that Cain built the city and named it after his son.
3. The condemned wanderer builds a city — the first city in the Bible. This stands in tension with the judgment of wandering (v. 12). Some interpreters see this as Cain's defiance of his sentence; others as God's tacit allowance of human civilization despite the fall. The text does not evaluate the act.

Translator Notes

1. 'Fathered' translates yalad (יָלַד), which literally means 'to bear, to give birth to' but in genealogical lists with a male subject means 'to father, to beget.' The KJV's 'begat' is the traditional rendering but is archaic. 'Fathered' is used consistently throughout.
2. Several names in Cain's genealogy resemble names in Seth's line (chapter 5): Enoch/Enoch, Irad/Jared, Mehujael/Mahalalel, Methushael/Methuselah, Lamech/Lamech. Whether these are variants of the same tradition or deliberate parallels is debated by scholars.

Translator Notes

1. Lamech is the first man recorded as taking two wives — the first polygamist in the Bible. This appears within Cain's lineage, and the narrative context may imply a departure from the one-man-one-woman pattern established in 2:24. The text reports it without explicit evaluation.
2. 'Adah' (עָדָה) may mean 'ornament' or 'beauty.' 'Zillah' (צִלָּה) may mean 'shade' or 'shadow,' possibly from tsel (צֵל, 'shadow').

Translator Notes

1. 'Father of' (avi, אֲבִי) here means 'ancestor of' or 'originator of' — the founder of a way of life. Jabal is credited as the originator of pastoral nomadism — tent-dwelling and livestock-herding.
2. 'Jabal' (יָבָל) may be related to yaval ('to bring, to lead') or yuval ('stream').
3. Verses 20–22 describe the origins of three aspects of human civilization — pastoralism (Jabal), music (Jubal), and metallurgy (Tubal-cain). These cultural advances arise within Cain's lineage, presenting a complex picture: the line of the murderer produces the founders of human culture and technology.

Translator Notes

1. 'Jubal' (יוּבָל) is related to the root y-b-l, from which the word yovel ('jubilee,' 'ram's horn') derives. The name itself echoes the sound of music.
2. 'Lyre' translates kinnor (כִּנּוֹר), a stringed instrument — David's instrument (1 Samuel 16:23). 'Pipe' translates ugav (עוּגָב), a wind instrument, possibly a flute or panpipe. Together they represent stringed and wind instruments — the full range of instrumental music. The KJV's 'harp and organ' uses terms that carry different connotations in modern English.

Translator Notes

1. 'Tubal-cain' (תּוּבַל קַיִן) — the name combines Tubal (possibly a people-name, cf. Genesis 10:2) with Cain. The compound name connects this metalworker to his ancestor.
2. 'Forger' translates lotesh (לֹטֵשׁ), from latash (לָטַשׁ, 'to sharpen, to hammer, to forge'). The KJV's 'instructer' misses the hands-on craft implied. Tubal-cain is the originator of metallurgy — working bronze (nechoshet, which can also mean copper) and iron (barzel).
3. 'Naamah' (נַעֲמָה) means 'pleasant' or 'lovely.' She is the only daughter mentioned in these genealogies. The text does not explain her significance, though Jewish tradition assigned her various roles.

Translator Notes

1. This is poetry — the 'Song of Lamech' — and is rendered with poetic line breaks. It is the second poem in Genesis (after Adam's poem in 2:23) and the first song of violence. The parallelism is precise: 'Adah and Zillah / wives of Lamech'; 'hear my voice / listen to my words'; 'a man / a young man'; 'for wounding me / for striking me.'
2. Whether Lamech is confessing a past killing or boasting of his readiness to kill is debated. The verbs can be read as past tense ('I have killed') or as a declaration of intent. The boastful tone and the comparison to Cain in verse 24 suggest bragging rather than remorse.
3. The 'man' (ish) and 'young man' (yeled) are likely the same person, described in parallel — a common feature of Hebrew poetry where two lines describe the same thing in different terms.

Translator Notes

1. Lamech takes God's protective decree over Cain (v. 15) and amplifies it grotesquely for himself — from sevenfold to seventy-sevenfold. Where God's sevenfold vengeance was meant to restrain violence (protecting even the murderer), Lamech's claim escalates violence beyond all proportion. The Song of Lamech represents the trajectory of Cain's line: from murder (Cain) to celebration of murder (Lamech).
2. Jesus's instruction to forgive 'seventy times seven' (Matthew 18:22) may intentionally invert Lamech's boast — replacing the escalation of vengeance with the escalation of forgiveness.
3. The poem ends Cain's genealogy on a note of unrestrained violence and self-aggrandizement, setting up the contrast with Seth's line (vv. 25–26) and preparing for the narrative of escalating wickedness that leads to the flood (6:1–8).

Translator Notes

1. This is the first verse where 'Adam' (אָדָם) is used without the article — functioning clearly as a proper name rather than 'the man.' The transition from common noun to proper name is now complete.
2. 'Seth' (Shet, שֵׁת) is explained by a wordplay with shat (שָׁת, 'appointed, placed, set'). Eve says 'God has appointed (shat) for me another seed' — hence the name Shet. The name means 'appointed' or 'granted.'
3. 'Offspring' translates zera (זֶרַע, 'seed') — the same word used in 3:15 for the woman's 'offspring' who would strike the serpent's head. Seth is the appointed replacement for Abel through whom that seed-line continues.

Translator Notes

1. 'Enosh' (אֱנוֹשׁ) means 'man,' 'mortal,' or 'human being' — from a root emphasizing human frailty and mortality (cf. Psalm 8:4; 103:15; Job 7:17). Where adam connects humanity to the ground, enosh connects humanity to mortality and weakness.
2. 'At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD' (az huchal liqro beshem YHWH) — this statement marks a significant theological development: the beginning of formal worship or invocation of God by his personal name YHWH. The verb huchal (הוּחַל) is from chalal (חָלַל), which can mean 'to begin' or 'to profane.' Most translations read 'began,' but an alternative reading is 'then it was profaned — calling on the name of the LORD' — i.e., the divine name began to be misused. The traditional reading 'began to call upon' is followed here.
3. The chapter ends by establishing two contrasting lines: Cain's line, marked by violence culminating in Lamech's boast (vv. 17–24); and Seth's line, marked by the beginning of worship (vv. 25–26). This contrast sets up the narrative tension that will dominate Genesis 5–6.